Enjoy this bonus chapter!
Tao Zhiwei was six years older than Yu Zhan, He Lushen, and the others. When he was young, they were all little kids running after him, screaming “Zhiwei ge!”
Back then, Yu Zhan was the shortest and least noticeable of all the kids. He wasn’t exactly the brightest or sharpest out of his peers either. Unlike the naughty and clever He Lushen, Yu Zhan was often disliked for letting down his peers, yet his temperament was favored by the parents.
To Tao Zhiwei’s surprise, Yu Zhan was now not only as tall as him but quite handsome as well–a prime example of how men change the most when they become adults. Yet his eyes faintly hinted of his past. Once so clumsy it induced panic, now soothing and reassuring.
Tao Zhiwei was delighted to see Yu Zhan ten years after they last saw each other, but this was not a good time to be nostalgic. He asked Yu Zhan, “What is wrong with Yaoyao’s cat?”
Yu Zhan said, “This is what we call a ‘week cat’.”
Tao Zhiwei was puzzled.
Yu Zhan explained, “Week cats are usually in very high spirits when first bought. However, a few days in, they often start to show symptoms of a severe lack of energy, vomiting, etc. These cats, even if sent to vets, usually cannot avoid their death. Most of them don’t survive for over a week, so in the pet industry, we call them week cats. There are week dogs too, with the same logic.”
Yu Zhan’s explanation made Tao Zhiwei and his assistant who purchased the cat for him come to realization.
The assistant angrily exclaimed, “I can’t believe that I met a scammer!”
The assistant graduated from a prestigious school, had an impressive IQ, a strong work ethic, and was highly trusted by his boss; yet, he was fooled by a pet seller. So shameful!
Tao Zhiwei glanced at his assistant, his emotions unpredictable.
In defense of the assistant, Yu Zhan explained,
“It is really hard for someone not experienced in the pet industry to distinguish a week cat because deceiving pet sellers inject chemicals into the diseased cats to make them seem healthy in order to trick their customers into purchasing the cats.”
“These chemicals often would only delay the cats’ conditions. The dosages of the injections can also worsen the symptoms of the diseases. Usually the cats only show symptoms after they are brought home, and the diseases’ effects on them increase exponentially.”
“Yeah, Pear was exactly like this,” Tao Zhiyao nodded, “on the first day, he was very active, but that night he started to show the symptoms you described.”
She pondered — she knew so many principles to raising a kitten, but she lacked experience. If she found the problem earlier, Pear wouldn’t have had to endure so much pain.
“Sorry, this is my mistake, ” the assistant apologized immediately.
“I don’t blame you; I selected the cat myself.”
In Tao Zhiwei’s position, he rarely interacts with scammers, but he fell for the trick this time.
Yu Zhan told the assistant, “No matter which cat you would have chosen, there would have been the same symptoms. The Parvovirus is infectious; one cat being infected means all cats will be infected. When you buy cats in the future, you should demand to see their parents. Deceiving cat sellers will not reproduce their own kittens; all their cats are imported from various sources for cheap prices. You should also check the cat’s feces; diseased cats, no matter what chemicals are injected into them, will not excrete regular feces.”
The assistant exclaimed, “I will go find the pet shop owner right now and demand a refund!”
“Another trip to the shop will have no other purpose than making you angrier,” Yu Zhan said, “they will definitely not admit it. In fact, they will blame you for not taking good care of the cat.”
Tao Zhiwei had the same thought — getting his 4,000 RMB back would be harder than climbing the sky; the deceiving salesman didn’t violate any rules nor laws.
Even a Gao Fu Shuai that inherited a wealthy family business like him couldn’t do anything about these scammers.
TL’s Note: Gao Fu Shuai is something people call men that are tall, rich, and handsome.
“We can try to sue this pet shop,” the assistant suggested.
Tao Zhiwei disagreed, “the pet shop is located in a neighborhood — I think you told me this. They don’t even have an official address, let alone an operating certificate. They can simply move to a different location. By choosing to run such an immoral business, these people are probably already afraid of nothing.”
4,000 RMB was not a lot of money to him; he would usually spend that amount in a single meal. He hoped that the cat would be cured, but if the cat couldn’t get cured, he would personally go to a certified pet shop and purchase a new cat for his sister.
Tao Zhiwei was a businessman, calm and collected, seeing of the big picture. There was no point in getting mad at this kind of person.
“No! I can’t get over this,” Tao Zhiyao angrily exclaimed, “Pear is so pitiful! Thinking of the fact that many other cats are going through the same thing, I feel so horrified.”
Yu Zhan looked at Tao Zhiwei, who wanted to settle the matter, and Tao Zhiyao, who was dissatisfied. Then, he turned back to Ye Ziliang, who hadn’t spoken yet, and said,
“‘Vet’s Cuties 2’ also adds to the element of immoral pet shops. There were many people who have never owned a pet before, and encountered the same incident with their first pet. I’ve already treated many pets of this type, and I worry there are more people that are vulnerable to this deception. We cannot eradicate these immoral businesses, but we can warn people to stay away from them. If nobody falls for their tricks, they will be driven out of business and they will stop harming these animals.”
Ye Ziliang was very supportive, “I have the same idea. In fact, here’s part of the event, filmed.”
Tao Zhiyao was suddenly excited. She asked Ye Ziliang, “You filmed the rich lady?”
“Yep.”
“Did you film me?”
“I filmed everyone, but I didn’t film your faces.”
“That’s clever, I felt so messy inside that I forgot I had a weapon too–media. We can stop these transactions at their core, better protecting abused animals like Pear. In fact, Liu Man used this strategy before; there are now half as much fake cat food sellers on Taobao.”
TL’s Note: Taobao is like the Amazon of China.
Tao Zhiyao told the assistant,
“When you have time, please bring me to that pet shop. I will do some secret investigating.”
The assertive and confident Tao Zhiyao was back, her eyes once again gleaming with passion. If not for the fact that Pear’s life was still in danger, she would already be at work.
The assistant was also infected by their passion and love for pets, and he nodded, “Of course!”
Translated by: Michael
Edited by: Sydney
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